As soon as I turn the blow dryer off there is slight knock at the door. Three quick taps like a code.
Wearing only a towel, I grab my .45 from the nightstand and move to the side of the door.
“Francesca, it’s Sal, open up.”
Shit!
I twist the dead bolt and the door swings wide enough for him to enter. Sal’s jaw drops when he sees my hair done and my body damp from the shower.
“What are you doing here? You scared the shit out of me!”
“How do you think I feel knowing you are out here all alone? Are you crazy?”
“Maybe,” I snap back clutching the bath towel tighter, as if it will protect me from . . . what? My heart that’s beating out of my chest.
The fact that he pierced my armor, the armor that was never to be compromised. I’m ill-prepared for these feelings. I don’t know how to surrender to anything. How can I give him what he’s looking for?
“I’m worried about you.” He pulls my laptop from under his arm and hands it to me. It’s too hot for the jacket he’s wearing so naturally I assume he’s concealing a weapon.
“Thanks,” I say, taking the laptop. Getting mad at each other isn’t going to help anything. Part of it is pent up sexual frustration and I breathe deeply to inhale the scent of him and notice his slightly tired face. It makes me want to reach out and touch him, but that’s not going to fix it.
“Where’s Matteo?” I ask, placing the laptop and gun on a nearby desk.
“Gathering intel and supplies. He’ll be gone for a few hours.”
“Hmm.”
“That’s all? You run away—”
“How did you find me?” I ask, alarmed that he knew where I was. He knows my alias but how did he know where I’d be?
“GPS in my car,” he says with an emphasis on ‘my’.
“Oh, right. Well, good thing you aren’t still hunting me,” and the retort is out of my mouth. It’s a bad habit, one that I use to defend the wall I built around myself years ago.
He lets out a tinyhuffand ends with a soft chuckle.
“No, nothing like that. I’m here to help. We all are. We have tons of men on the way.” And with that, he steps inside, takes me in his arms, kicks the door closed behind him, and locks it.
I don’t know why he trusts me so much, except for our shared hatred of my brothers but I’ll take it. It’s common ground and ground I’m familiar with so I release the tension in my body and let him hold me.
Holding my towel with one hand, I wrap one arm around him, pulling him to me.
“I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.”
“I missed you too. But mostly, I was going crazy without you at the house. Nothing is the same without you, Francesca.” His lips gently descend upon mine as I surrender to them.
The warmth of his lips melts me like sugar in hot tea. When we take a break to breathe, his eyes are no longer cold and barren, but full of mirth and brightness. He uses a finger to trace the right side of my face down to the top of my towel that he dispenses with so quickly I don’t notice because I’m craving him more than I’ve craved anything in my life.
These are new emotions and the wave of anxiety that makes me want to run. I have an undeniable attraction to him that I can’t refuse. I want him, I want all of him.
“I—” His lips are on mine, warm, inviting as we continue to kiss and this time, it’s soft and gentle. We’re not feeding off our anger. Soft gentle kisses that are making my knees weak and my body trembles under his touch.
“Later,” he replies as his hand moves down to cup my breast, making my nipple hard before he brushes his thumb over it.
My pussy is pulsating as I stand naked before him, wanting him more than anything in the world. I never knew what it would be like living without him and I don’t want to find out because I know that I would hate a life without him in it, he ruined the sanctity of my solitude.
His slender fingers roll my nipple between them with the expertise of a seasoned lover, and I don’t know why I should be surprised. I’m sure he’s had his share of women over the years.